2nd May

It’s been a bit of a tradition of mine to take the day off after the May day bank holiday and have a good walk around the patch, often turning up a goodie or two. This year however, a combination of a dodgy Achilles tendon and a cold, foggy morning meant it wasn’t exactly a classic! Nonetheless, I notched up 58 species including my first Yellow Wagtail of the year..   

Together with Little Egret, two Kingfishers, a late Snipe and at least five singing Corn Buntings…

As well as this Grey Heron standing ten feet up the bank, not sure what it was after!

And in the odd moment when the sun broke through I snapped these Sand Martin at one of their nesting sites…

This colony held over 100 nests last year but only around 20 now because of bank erosion. This means the largest numbers have shifted downstream of Morton bridge. They are a very adaptable species and I even heard of them nesting in a pile of wet sawdust in a Masham saw-mill some years ago. Not always sensible though with this group of nests looking a little vulnerable being low down and well back from the river.